Be still my heart…I got to watch Dan on MSNBC last night!  He was hosting Scarborough Country for Joe.  I miss Dan Abrams & his show.  I used to e-mail him/his show.  I even had a couple e-mails read on air.  I :puffy heart: Dan.

Does your grocery stores have a salad bar?  I was thinking about this last week.  One of my weird pregnancy things is that I crave salad bar salads.  There was one chain in WA that had salad bars but it wasn’t convenient to me.  None of the stores here have salad bars anymore.  One location of the stores I shopped when we were in IL had a bar but not the other locations of the same chain.  I think only one store in my hometown has a salad bar anymore.  Are they a total thing of the past now??  With all the ready-to-eat foods in the stores now, I’d think salad bars would do good.  Mom stops at the store on the way home, picks up some bread from the bakery, an entree and then makes a big salad.  I miss salad bars!!  (I ended up taking E on a date to Ruby Tuesday.)

So plans have changed for Jim’s graduation.  They are having a reception, so I don’t have to do dinner after all.  We’ll still do one on Friday night.  Instead of shish kabobs, I’m thinking we’ll do ribs, loaded smashed potatoes, a salad and maybe some grilled corn on the cob.

And that brings me to my next question.  I’m thinking about making doughnuts one morning.  I want to do yeast doughnuts.  I’ve only made cake ones in the past.  Has anyone out there made yeast doughnuts?  With the amount of time it needs to raise…well, that puts my day starting early!  I thought about making them the night before but I really want that hot, fresh taste.  I thought about making them but cutting the frying time down a couple minutes and then finishing them in the morning.  Or I thought about making the dough and putting it in the fridge overnight.  But I’m not sure how either would do.  I’m planning to make some regular glazed ones, chocolate iced using Alton’s recipe and maybe some maple iced.  And then I’ll have nuts & maybe sprinkles too.  Yum.

For Jim’s graduation (end of the month), my in-laws, my SIL, my dad & possibly my step-mom will all be here.  I think we’ve decided to do shish kabobs for dinner that day (I can prep it ahead of time &  it’ll be quick, in case the day is long).  I’ll do beef & chicken plus some veggies.  But I’m not sure what I want to do as a side.  I’ll probably do some kind of bread but I’d also like something else.  Any ideas??  And anyone want to share their favorite veggies for grilling?  If it matters, for dessert I’ll be doing either an ice cream sundae bar (homemade ice cream!) or an ice cream cake (probably cookies & cream w/chocolate cake).  Jim hasn’t decided which he wants yet.

And any ideas on how much (poundage-wise) I should plan for each adult?  Or anyplace I can look?

The night before I think we’re going to do a hamburger bar.  I need ideas for what to include.  Keep in mind that the family isn’t exactly adventerous.  My meal plan includes: lettuce, tomatoes, grilled Vidalia onions, raw red onions, thick-cut smoked bacon plus ketchup, mayo, mustard & A-1.  Any other  ideas?

Yea, I know my interestsn are a bit “odd” (geeky?  dorky?  cool?  I’m fine with anything) by some people’s standards. And just to prove it…check out some of the new links in my blogroll–all TV food blogs! That Tyler’s chef blog is Tyler Florence. And a few other cool ones, including one dedicated to Alton *swoon* Brown.

A real update coming tomorrow….

Does anyone remember this show that was on the Food Network? I’m not sure when it was canceled or when it came on. I remember watching it when we lived in Chicago. And maybe in college too. I’ve been trying to think of the name of the show on-and-off for many months. Today I was reading a thread on some random board (no, I haven’t read all 127 PAGES yet!!) moarning the loss of *good* Food Network shows and someone mentioned Curtis Aikens. I wasn’t positive if the face I was thinking of belonged to him or not. I did a search and found him AND the name of that darn show that I have spent way too much brain power over! Anyway…I LOVED that show. I liked seeing ‘real’ people cook, see their homes & families, learn about their family’s history & traditions.

As I was reading that thread, I thought to so many shows I used to love watching on TFN. Ready, Set, Cook!, The Best Of, Food Finds, Pick of the Day (a really old show), Cooking Monday through Friday (another really old show), Food 911, Sweet Dreams, David Rosengarten (not a ‘flashy’ personality but incredibly passionate), Too Hot Tamales (another really old show), Cooking Live, East Meets West (not food I’d actually cook but SO interesting…plus Ming Tsai is HOT! , Door Knock Dinners, Melting Pot (with the rotating ethnic chefs), Ultimate Kitchens (not a cooking show but showed great kitchens!).  So many good shows gone by the wayside.  I still enjoy some of the current shows (Alton Brown *swoon*) but so much of it isn’t about actual cooking anymore.  I loved The Best of & Food Finds but there have been SO many duplicate-type shows none of which, IMO, are as good as the originals.  Like MTV is no longer about n’music, Food Network isn’t much about cooking anymore.  And as much as I’m all for quick & easy, I loved seeing shows that showcased more complex dishes too.

And your reward for reading my mourning of Food Network, here’s a recipe I made this week. It is very light & perfect for spring & summer. And they are so quick to make! I froze the extras. (Take one at the night prior or reheat in the microwave.)

I’d love a new recipe, if anyone wants to share one in the comments!

Lemon Butter Muffins

6 T. butter at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 large lemon, zested & juiced
2 cups self-rising flour

Glaze:
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1-2 T. lemon juice or milk
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Heat oven to 400. Prepare 12 muffin cups for baking.

Combine buttter & sugar until creamy. Add the egg, milk, 3 T. lemon juice & 1 t. lemon zest. Stir until combined. Fold in the flour (with a spoon, not the mixer) until *just* combined. Batter will be lumpy. Bake until light & fluffy and they just spring back when touched, about 18-20 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pan & cool 15 minutes before glazing.

To prepare glaze, place confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl and whisk in 1 T. of liquid. Add more liquid, 1 t. at a time, until you reach a thin glaze consistency.. Add lemon zest. Glaze muffins.

Notes: I used about twice the amount of lemon zest for both the muffins & the glaze. I used half lemon juice & half milk for the glaze. I wanted a little extra punch from the juice but thought the milk would make it more creamy tasting.

I was in scratch-baking mode this weekend.  And it was WONDERFUL.  I made buttermilk pancakes (with extras to freeze), butter crescent rolls to accompany our pot roast last night, orange cranberry muffins to take to a friend and banana oatmeal mini-muffins for E.  Cooking, especially baking, is so theraputic to me.  I get in such a zone.  And it was nice weather, so I was able to open the kitchen window.  Had my iPod to listen to some old ‘Splendid Table‘ episodes.  Totally recentered me.

Elizabeth has become quite the craft-girl lately.  She’s had Crayola Color Wonder markers for about a year and they’ve been wonderful.  Ditto to color pencils. We added the paints in the fall.  She couldn’t be trusted (not to eat!) crayons until recently.  Play-doh has been really big for the last couple months.  I’ve been slowly filling an art supply box which she discovered a couple weeks ago and has had a grand time playing with all the fabrics, glues, stickers, etc.  I saw that Michael’s has tempera paint on sale this week.  Against my better judgment, I think we’ll get some.  Its supposed to rain & be cool all week, so that’ll provide us new entertainment.  I also want to get her a couple coloring books.  Mostly we draw shapes and I write names.  But she’s just started asking me draw flowers, trees, people, etc.  So I thinks he may like a coloring book now.   The art & craft time has been great for me.  Its a nice way to zone out of the day.  And other times she wants to do it alone, so it gives me some time to browse the internet uniterrupted.   Its interesting to watch her get so lost in A&C when she usually doesn’t stop moving for 3 seconds.

Since it is supposed to be nice today, I’ve got the windows open to air the house out.  I want to take our pillows outside to sun.   And I think we may go to the playground.  I love early glimpses of spring!!